


More Than a Passing Similarity....

by Gang_Aft_Agley



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-09-19 14:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9444590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gang_Aft_Agley/pseuds/Gang_Aft_Agley
Summary: .... and not just in lipstick.





	1. Chapter 1

“Peggy! Peggy Carter!”

Turning her head at the shout just behind them, Peggy squeaked uncharacteristically.  Dropping Steve and Bucky's arms, she spun on her heel and pelted back down the steps.  Her two escorts turned just in time to see her (cool, collected, poised Peggy) positively _fling_ herself into the arms of an older gentleman who had just alighted from a taxi outside of HQ.

“ _Uncle Jack!_  What on earth … I had no idea … I thought you’d still be in Australia!”

He laughed, released her, and took her arm, leading her back to where Steve and Bucky were waiting, mouths hanging open.

“All your aunt’s doing, of course.”

“I should have known.  Steve, Bucky, this is Detective Inspector Jack Robinson of the Melbourne Police.  Uncle Jack, meet Captain Steve Rogers and Sergeant James Barnes.” 

“Pleasure, gents.  I’ve seen you both in the newsreels, and Peggy here has written my wife a great deal about you as well.”

“Oh lord….” Bucky murmured faintly as they shook hands.  Once the pleasantries were dispensed with, Peggy playfully smacked the Inspector in the shoulder.  He caught her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Why didn’t you write to me that you were coming to England?  Or send me a telegram when you arrived?”

“Your aunt wanted to surprise you.  Speaking of which, a Colonel Phillips telephoned me, your superior, I believe, and asked me to retrieve her from the premises.”

Peggy paled.

“Aunt Phryne.  In the SSR.”

“Yes, she _did_ have an appointment, courtesy of her work with the Red Cross, but I gather she’s rather overstayed her welcome.”

“ _Did she have her pistol with her?”_

“Well, it wasn’t in the bureau or her spare handbag, so I would assume so, yes.”

Clapping a horrified hand over her mouth, Peggy pushed past all three of them and _ran_ into HQ, barely pausing to flash her badge at the guards at the door.

The Inspector sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as the clicking of her heels receded into the distance, before gesturing at Steve and Bucky to precede him.

“Onward and into the fray, gents.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wee sidepiece that came into my head.

“Mr. Butler, you know I’m not one for gossip, and I don’t mean to be impertinent, but I would like your advice on something.”

The man so addressed looked up from the silver he was polishing.

“Of course, Mr. Jarvis. Ask away.”

Edwin Jarvis paused to collect his thoughts as he placed a spoon back in the silver box with a decided _clink_. He glanced nervously across the kitchen, but the ladies were preoccupied at the stove and paying no attention whatsoever to the menfolk. (Mrs. Collins had been initially dubious about trying some of Ana’s recipes, but had almost immediately been won over by the _paprikash_ at supper the night before).

“Well, I gather from Miss Carter that before her marriage, your employer was … quite popular with the gentlemen.”

Tobias Butler raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, that would be one way of describing the situation, I suppose.”

“Just so. In light of that, I would welcome any suggestions for escorting … overnight visitors off of the premises? Mr. Stark always leaves that unenviable task to me, and I endeavor to do so gently, with as much decorum as possible. And yet … it always leads to a dreadful row, and sometimes violence.”

Mr. Butler’s other eyebrow shot up. 

“Alas, Mr. Jarvis, I have little advice to offer on the subject.   While Miss Fisher, as she was at the time, did entertain gentlemen callers in her bedroom on numerous occasions, she always saw her visitors out personally. At most, I might be called upon to provide a hot breakfast or a stiff drink.”

“Ah, yes, I see. Quite.” Jarvis blinked, and bent to polishing a fork with unnecessary vigor. Mr. Butler smiled.

“On the other hand, if you would like the secret of removing lipstick from fine linen, I’m your man.”


	3. Extraction

“ _Dammit!”_

“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” said Dr. Elizabeth Macmillan, wielding the forceps with slightly more vigor that was strictly required. _Slightly_. “It’s only a minor flesh wound, after all, and should heal with minimal scarring … or, at least it _would_ , if you’d stop bloody squirming, Captain.”

Her patient snorted, but quieted. He still twitched uncontrollably, but that was only to be expected, since she was busily picking fragments of shrapnel out of his flesh. In the grand scheme of things, his wounds _were_ relatively minor … which no doubt was the reason he had been assigned to her, rather than to one of the other (read: male) doctors on the unit.

“ _Ouch_! Are you sure you’re _removing_ shrapnel, and not shoving it further in?”

“ _Quite_ sure. There, that’s the last of it, but of course I can put it all back again if you prefer?” she replied tartly.

He didn’t reply in words, just grumbled, but at least he settled back down.

_Americans_ , she thought resignedly as the forceps clattered onto the tray next to the basin full of bloody bits of metal, and she reached for the saline bottle for a final rinse. _Brave as anything when they’re_ seriously _hurt_ , _but one little scratch and they’re fussing like infants._ In the man’s defense, though, he had to wait until all of the more seriously wounded soldiers had been seen to; she could forgive him for being slightly testy.

With everything rinsed and disinfected, the nurse at her elbow handed Mac a roll of gauze to pack the wounds and bandage them. Thankfully, none of them were large enough or serious enough to require suturing, and with any luck none of the punctures would turn septic (as most wounds acquired in the trenches inevitably did).

“Now, in the ordinary course of things, little boys who are good patients get a sweetie, but I’m afraid that between the nurses and myself, our chocolate ration didn’t last more than five minutes. However, I do have a bottle of whiskey stashed away, and I’m willing to share. Perhaps if I do, you’ll tell me how an American ended up behind the Australian lines, with a courier pouch that was immediately carried off by the top brass?”

Captain Chester Phillips raised his head and glared at her over his shoulder. Mac just smiled as she rinsed her hands and dried them off.

“I bet it’s quite a good story. Is it any anyway connected to the shrapnel I just picked out of your back … or the bullet I extracted from your left arsecheek?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see these two meeting up during the Second War (for reasons), having a drink, and swapping stories about the hijinks Peggy and Phryne get up to.


	4. Kicking Above the Shins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _….and dear Prudence has given such glowing reports of the miracles you’ve worked with young Jane.  I hope you might be able to do the same with Margaret, help turn her into a proper young lady …_

“Oh, look, there they are, just by the second funnel.”

Dot spotted the passengers indicated, and blinked at the little girl who was to be their guest: about ten years old and sporting a truly ferocious scowl.  Her straw hat was clamped tight to her head with one hand, ribbons fluttering this way and that in the strong wind off the water, and she was clutching Mrs. Stanley’s elbow in a death grip with the other. 

“She doesn’t … _look_ particularly promising, miss.  I know we can hardly send her back, after she's sailed all this way, but ... are you _sure_ you want to take her on while Jane’s off at University?”

“Oh, she’s probably a bit sulky right now, but I am neither surprised nor discouraged.  After all, she’s been trapped in fairly close quarters with Aunt Prudence for three months, which is more than enough to sour anyone’s expression, I should think,” Miss Phryne replied, dismissing Dot’s fears with airy unconcern.  “Give her a few days to realize that her stay won’t be _quite_ the punishment her mother intended, and I’m sure she’ll improve tremendously.”

Dot had to concede the point.

“Even so, I’m still a little amazed that Mrs. Carter thought you’d be a suitable guardian for her daughter, miss.  We’re not exactly a … conventional household, after all.”

Miss Phryne _hmmm’_ d thoughtfully.

“Well, Jane turned out all right under my care, so there's that in my favor.  And as far as Amanda Carter is concerned, I seem to have outgrown my ... youthful high spirits rather nicely.” 

Bert clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle a snort of laughter; she fixed him with a piercing glare, and he mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.  Cec smacked him on the back of the head.

“Keeping both of those facts in mind, she has some idea that, at the _very_ least, I might be able to wrap a veneer of respectability around some of Peggy's less lady-like attributes.  It also gets her half a world away from her brother, who rather encourages her childish exuberance.”  With a sudden grin, she added, “Besides, the title certainly doesn’t hurt.  Amanda’s always been rather too impressed with such things.”

By this point, the passengers had made their way down the gangplank while Mrs. Stanley searched the pier, shading her eyes with her free hand.  As they stepped onto _terra firma_ , Miss Phryne put two fingers to her lips and let out a piercing whistle, causing them both to turn.  Mrs. Stanley smiled in recognition and pointed out the welcoming party to the girl at her side.

Little Peggy Carter’s face cleared immediately, and she let out an exuberant whoop of joy; dropping her escort’s arm, she charged full tilt across the quay.  Her speed didn’t slacken one jot, even as she wove in and out of the dockside traffic, until she cannoned into Miss Phryne,  flinging her arms about her waist.  Mrs. Stanley followed more sedately, several porters trailing behind her with the luggage.

“ _Oof_ , careful, darling, don’t knock me over,” Miss Phryne murmured as she returned her niece’s (well, distant cousin several times removed, but who’s counting?) hug wholeheartedly.  “Smooth passage, everyone?”

“Smooth enough, but I imagine we’re both relieved to be on dry land again, _aren’t we_ , Margaret?”  Mrs. Stanley fixed the girl with a gimlet eye.

Peggy nodded meekly even as her eyes sparkled with suppressed rebellion; Miss Phryne gave her hand a squeeze before herding everyone towards the automobiles.

“Glad to hear it, Aunt P.  Now, Cec and Bert will take you home in the taxi, and Peggy can ride with Dot and I in the Hispano.  Mr. Butler will have tea ready, I'll expect.”

As Bert and Cec wrangled the luggage into the appropriate vehicles and Miss Phryne got Mrs. Stanley settled in the back seat of the taxi, Peggy tugged on Dot’s sleeve. 

“Will there be biscuits with tea?  Aunt Prudence wouldn’t let me have any yesterday after some awful _boy_ threw another girl’s skipping rope overboard, and I kicked him in the shins for it,” she whispered, and Dot had to smile.

“There'll be _chocolate_ biscuits.  And probably scones and jam and clotted cream, if I know Mr. Butler.”

“And afterwards,” Miss Phryne added as she joined them back at the Hispano, “I’ll teach you how to kick a bully _properly.”_   Peggy’s eyes widened.

“Properly?”  Miss Phryne winked over her shoulder as she started up the motor.

“If you lead with the toes when you kick a man in the shins, you’ll hurt yourself almost as much as you hurt him, especially in those shoes.  Much better to kick him somewhere softer … _above_ the shins.  Well above.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Come tumble with me!](http://oft-goes-awry.tumblr.com/)


End file.
